Untitled (originally titled The Golden Shower) is the eleventh collection by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, released for the Spring/Summer 1998 season of his eponymous fashion house. The collection and runway show were an expression of McQueen's frustration with his dual positions as head of his own label and French fashion house Givenchy. There was a creative gulf between the designs he was interested in making, which were dark, experimental, and sensual, and the chic, tasteful work Givenchy expected from him. The collection reflected this with two phases: the first had provocative looks in dark shades, while the second had elegant looks in white. The prevailing themes were experimental tailoring and an erotic sensibility, showcased in unconventional tailored silhouettes, garments cut to be revealing, and glittery fringe and beading. Accessories by Shaun Leane and Sarah Harmarnee reflected the collection's sadomasochistic undercurrent.
The runway show was held on 28 September 1997 at the Gatliff Road Warehouse in London. The runway was a series of Perspex tanks filled with water, coloured to reflect the contrasting theme for each phase. For the first phase, fluorescent underlighting made it appear white. For the second phase, ink was pumped into the water to turn it black, and gold-lit artificial rain fell on the runway. McQueen had intended to call the collection The Golden Shower after the sex act, but retitled it following objections from his new corporate sponsor, American Express; he insisted on retaining the visual effect.
The clothing and runway show were well-received in both contemporary and retrospective reviews. Critical analysis has focused on the staging, themes of evolution and brutality, and the spine corset. Items from Untitled have appeared in museum exhibitions such as Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.
Background British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was known for his imaginative, sometimes controversial designs, and dramatic fashion shows. Over the course of his career, which lasted from 1992 until his death in 2010, he explored a broad range of ideas and themes, particularly sexuality, death, violence, romanticism, and historicism. After earning a reputation as an expert tailor as an apprentice on Savile Row, he enrolled in the master's program at London art school Central Saint Martins (CSM), graduating in 1992. McQueen's reputation for shocking runway shows began early, and his sexualised designs and aggressive styling drew accusations of misogyny. The controversy over his sixth collection, Highland Rape (Autumn/Winter 1995), is considered to be the launching point of his fame.
McQueen's work was highly autobiographical: he incorporated elements of his personal fixations into his designs and runway shows. Throughout his career, he habitually played with shapes and silhouettes, sometimes styling his models to look unnatural or inhuman. McQueen felt an affinity for water and the ocean, and many shows incorporated water features, beginning with Bellmer La Poupée (Spring/Summer 1997). He relied on a close set of regular collaborators, many of whom he had met at CSM, to produce things outside his area of expertise. He had a longstanding working relationship with jeweller Shaun Leane, who had worked with him as early as Highland Rape. Simon Costin was McQueen's set designer and art director on most of his early shows.
From October 1996 to October 2001, McQueen wasin addition to his responsibilities for his own labelhead designer at French fashion house Givenchy, succeeding John Galliano, who moved to Dior. Both labels were owned by LVMH, headed by Bernard Arnault. McQueen's time at Givenchy was fraught, primarily because of creative differences between him and LVMH; his early collections there were poorly received. Galliano and McQueen had roughly parallel careers and similarly theatrical styles, leading fashion journalists to compare and contrast their work and career choices. McQueen resented being compared to Galliano, who he thought was unduly favoured by LVMH. He often sought to emulate or outdo Galliano's ideas in his own work.
Concept and creative process
Inspiration Untitled (originally The Golden Shower) is the eleventh collection by McQueen for his eponymous fashion house. It was presented for the Spring/Summer 1998 season. At the time the collection was being developed, McQueen was almost a year into his contract with Givenchy, and things were going poorly. He felt that he was not adequately supported by the management and there were persistent rumors that he would be fired before his contract was finished. There was a creative gulf between the designs he was interested in making, which were dark, experimental, and sensual, and the chic, tasteful work Givenchy expected from him. McQueen channelled his frustrations into his designs, developing Untitled as a collection based on contrasts. With the Chinese concept of yin and yang in mind, McQueen described a runway show with two phases: the first would be provocative looks in dark tones on a white runway, while the second would be more tailored and elegant in white tones on a dark runway. He intended this to reflect the dichotomy between his work for the two labels: saying "One is a prim, proper Parisian lady; the other is a mental case".
The show's staging was developed alongside the clothing; after suggesting the colour-changing catwalk, McQueen also decided he wanted to "piss on them" with a "golden shower" effect in the second half. He titled the collection accordingly as The Golden Shower but after objections from the main sponsor, American Express, the show was renamed to Untitled. Maureen Callahan reports McQueen being amused by this: first facetiously pretending to not know what the term meant, and then laughing over the change. Andrew Wilson, in contrast, quotes Simon Costin as saying that McQueen was incensed by the forced alteration. Fashion theorist Caroline Evans suggested that the show's new name, Untitled, was "an ironic parody of art titles".
Collection The first phase of Untitled comprised darker designs in line with McQueen's personal sensibilities, with a palette of mainly black with yellow and gold accents. There was a strong reliance on tailoring, a brand signature. Many of these items used wool fabric traditionally used for men's suits, with pinstripes or Prince of Wales check, but others used cowhide or faux reptile skin. Classical tailoring techniques were adapted to create unconventional silhouettes, such as suit jackets with cowled backs. Some of these items mixed fabrics to create patterns; critics have described this technique as resembling the woodworking techniques of intarsia or marquetry.
The tailored designs were contrasted by ensembles with a distinctly erotic sensibility and underlying theme of sadomasochism: sheer black shirts and sheath dresses, stringy halter tops, and garments pieced together from what appeared to be bondage straps. McQueen's bumsters, originally a low-rise trouser that exposed the intergluteal cleft, were reworked as a shirt and skirt combination. Galliano had employed leather cut into lace-like designs in his first couture show for Dior; here McQueen used the same technique but for minidresses and trench coats. Many designs featured glitter, fringe, and beading in bronze and black.
The second phase featured all white clothing: suits and delicate, almost sheer dresses in muslin and chiffon.
Accessories were provided by Shaun Leane and Sarah Harmarnee, and reflected the sadomasochistic undercurrent of the collection. The most notable of them was Leane's aluminium spine corset, cast from a human spine and ribcage, with an added tail. It was the first large-scale piece McQueen requested from Leane; when Leane balked at the idea, McQueen retorted "Well, Shaun, if you can make it small, you can make it big. It's just as simple as that." It took Leane three months to make. Leane also provided several mouth-pieces shaped like the human jawbone, which were fitted on some of the male models. Harmarnee contributed silver-plated metal headpieces and shoulder-pieces.
Runway show
Production details The runway show was held on at the Gatliff Road Warehouse in London, a starkly industrial disused bus depot; it was the first of six shows McQueen staged there. The budget is estimated to have been about , with roughly coming from McQueen's new sponsor, American Express. The company was seeking to promote its Gold Card to a younger audience. In addition to the sponsorship, they commissioned McQueen to create a gold trouser suit to appear in the show. The credit sheet borrowed stills from The Messenger, a video installation by Bill Viola. There were roughly 2,000 attendees, including singer Janet Jackson.
Gainsbury & Whiting oversaw production while Katy England managed styling. McQueen's repeat collaborator Simon Costin returned for set design, with Simon Chaudoir for lighting. Nicolas Nurnjack styled hair, and Val Garland was assisted by Sharon Dowsett for make-up. Sebastian Pons, a friend from CSM, worked as McQueen's assistant. John Gosling, another regular collaborator, created the soundtrack.
Staging and styling McQueen worked with Costin to develop the idea of a set that would change from white to black halfway through the show, expressing the collection's theme of contrasts. McQueen wanted to incorporate water into the runway, as he and Costin had done with Bellmer La Poupeé (Spring/Summer 1997) two seasons prior. They settled on a catwalk made of clear Perspex tanks, as Costin had a connection at Imperial Chemical Industries who could get him custom-sized pieces. For the first phase of the show, fluorescent underlighting made the tanks appear white. For the second phase, ink was pumped into the water to turn it black. Because this process would take several minutes, McQueen and Costin decided to insert a break in the show here. The audience would be forced to sit and watch the tanks change color; the two felt this would elevate the presentation into installation art.
Although the show's name had been changed, McQueen still wanted wanted his "golden shower" of gold-coloured artificial rain to fall on the runway for the second phase. Costin recalls him angrily telling Chaudoir "I want that water to look like piss". The effect may have been appropriated from Forgotten Innocents (Spring/Summer 1986) by John Galliano; that collection featured delicate white dresses that were styled wet and see-through on the runway.
Models were styled in a "1960s ingenue" aesthetic, with long false eyelashes and long wigs with choppy fringe. Eyebrows were hidden, and lips and skin were pale, de-emphasising these features in favour of the exaggerated eye looks. The false lashes were made from feathers shaped into fins or bat wing shapes. In the second phase, because of the rain effect, the models' mascara ran down their faces, and many of the dresses exhibited a wet T-shirt effect, clinging to the body and becoming sheer. Both phases had male models, some of whom wore skirts and corsets in what Watt thought was a nod to the appearance of corsetier Mr. Pearl in The Birds (Spring/Summer 1995).
Catwalk presentation